The Effect of α-pinene from Pinus densiflora S. and a Polysaccharide from Angelica gigas Nakai on Differentiation and Proliferation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Revolutionizing Disease Modeling: The Emergence of Organoids in Cellular Systems

Cellular models have created opportunities to explore the characteristics of human diseases through well-established protocols, while avoiding the ethical restrictions associated with post-mortem studies and the costs associated with researching animal models. The capability of cell reprogramming, such as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology, solved the complications associated with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) usage. Moreover, iPSCs made significant contributions for human medicine, such as in diagnosis, therapeutic and regenerative medicine. The two-dimensional (2D) models allowed for monolayer cellular culture in vitro; however, they were surpassed by the three-dimensional (3D) cell culture system. The 3D cell culture provides higher cell-cell contact and a multi-layered cell culture, which more closely respects cellular morphology and polarity. It is more tightly able to resemble conditions in vivo and a closer approach to the architecture of human tissues, such as human organoids. Organoids are 3D cellular structures that mimic the architecture and function of native tissues. They are generated in vitro from stem cells or differentiated cells, such as epithelial or neural cells, and are used to study organ development, disease modeling, and drug discovery. Organoids have become a powerful tool for understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying human physiology, providing new insights into the pathogenesis of cancer, metabolic diseases, and brain disorders. Although organoid technology is up-and-coming, it also has some limitations that require improvements.

Innovative assistant extraction of flavonoids from pine (Larix olgensis Henry) needles by high-density steam flash-explosion

High-density steam flash-explosion (HDSF) was first employed to extract flavonoids from pine needles. The HDSF treatment was performed at a steam pressure of 0.5-2.0 MPa for 20-120 s. Scanning electron microscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography combined with photodiode-array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS) were used to characterize the morphological changes and analyze flavonoids of pine needles before and after HDSF treatment. Our results indicated that, after steam explosion at 1.5 MPa for 60 s, the flavonoids extracted reached 50.8 rutin equivalents mg/g dry weight, which was 2.54-fold as that of the untreated sample. HDSF pretreatment caused the formation of large micropores on the pine needles and production of particles, as well as the removal of wax layers. Compared to microwave-assisted, ultrasound-assisted, and solvent extraction, HDSF pretreatment took only 30 min to reach a maximum yield of 47.0 rutin equivalents mg/g flavonoids extract after pine needles were treated at 1.5 MPa for 80 s. In addition, after HDSF treatment, the aglycones were 3.17 times higher than that of untreated pine needles, while glycosides were lower by 57% (in HPLC-DAD individuals' sum) due to hydrolysis of flavonoids glycosides. It can be concluded that HDSF is a practical pretreatment for extraction of flavonoids and conversion in the healthy food and pharmaceutical industries.